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Line 219 - Are you employed or self-employed?

If you have moved and established a new home to work or run a business at a new location, you can deduct eligible moving expenses from the employment or self-employment income you earned at your new work location, including amounts you received under the Wage Earner Protection Program in respect of your employment at the new work location.

To qualify, your new home must be at least 40 kilometres (by the shortest usual public route) closer to the new place of work. You must establish your new home as the place where you ordinarily reside. For example, you have established a new home if you have sold or rented (or advertised for sale or rent) your old home. Generally, your move must be from one place in Canada to another place in Canada.

You cannot deduct your moving expenses from any other type of income, such as investment income or employment insurance benefits, even if you received this income at the new location.

If you received a reimbursement or an allowance for your eligible moving expenses you can only claim your moving expenses if you include the amount you received in your income or if you reduce your moving expenses by the amount received.

Note

We may ask you to provide a letter from your employer stating that you were not reimbursed for the moving expenses you are claiming.

Unused moving expenses available to carry forward to a future year

If your net moving expenses (line 21 of Form T1-M, Moving Expenses Deduction) that you paid in the year of the move are more than the net eligible income (line 22 of Form T1-M) earned at the new work location in that same year, you can carry forward and deduct the unused part of those expenses from your employment or self-employment income earned at the new work location in the following years.

Expenses you paid in a year after you moved

If your eligible moving expenses were paid in a year after the year of your move, you can claim them on your return for the year you paid them against employment or self-employment income earned at the new work location.

This may apply if your old residence did not sell until after the year of your move. If this is the case, we may ask you to submit Form T1-M with the receipts and explain the delay in selling your home.

Note

You cannot carry back moving expenses to a previous year. For example, if you paid moving expenses in 2016 for a move that occurred in 2015, you cannot claim the expenses paid in 2016 on your 2015 return, even if you earned employment or self-employment income at the new location in 2015.

Your net eligible income

If you are an employee, your net eligible income is equal to the amounts reported on your T4 and/or T4A slips that relate to the new work location and that are included on lines 101 and/or 104, minus any amount relating to the new work location claimed on lines 207, 212, 229, 231, and 232 of your return.

If you are self-employed, your net eligible income is generally equal to the net amounts earned at the new work location that are included on lines 135 to 143, minus any amounts claimed on lines 212 and 222 of your return.